San Antonio school districts united against bathroom bill

Several San Antonio area school districts and the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to lawmakers in Austin opposing the highly debated bathroom bill.

Alamo Heights ISD, San Antonio ISD, and Harlandale ISD are among the fifteen school districts opposing the bill, which, if passed, would determine which bathrooms transgender students can use.

In the letter, school leaders state, in part:

The proposed legislation during the 85th legislature was seeking to solve a problem that does not exist in our schools.

San Antonio Chamber of Commerce president, Richard Perez, also signed the letter.

"We don’t need this, we're dealing with it already as independent school districts, and it doesn't make sense to be the place where this thing lands," Perez said.

Republican House Speaker Joe Straus was the recipient of the letter. He's long-opposed backing any bathroom bill.

“Not one single superintendent of the school or the school district has told me that a bathroom bill will improve education,” said Speaker Straus, who also noted that the bill bad news for business. “Our state of Texas has a ranking, over time, of being the No. 1 state in the country to do business. A recent study has shown that we've slipped from No. 1 to No. 4. One of the reasons they listed was issues such as this."

He says that lawmakers should be focused on other issues, like improving schools and reducing property taxes.

Perez agrees.

"The fear is that the state will get a bad reputation as not being a welcoming state," Perez explained. "The last thing we want to do is say no to a certain kind of talent."